[Beetlescott]

I received some very sad news Sunday. My 2 son's first cousin passed away Friday evening, he had a bloodclot that went through his heart and killed him instantly. He was 28. The saddest part of all was it could have been prevented. His sister developed a surface clot a few months ago and went to the doctor and found that she had a blood disorder just like her Father. They went in and put a filter trap in through the groin area. Since Deep Vien Thrombosis comes from clots in the legs, the filter can catch them if they break loose and try to travel to the heart and lungs. I had DVT in my legs 2 years ago, (over 20 in each leg) with no symptoms at all. The clots came loose and travelled to my lungs where they lodged, one of the clots was so large, it was saddled over in both lungs. I have talked about this in here before but after this young man died simply because he didn't want to have a test, it is just happening all over again. I had emergency surgery where they tried to "melt" some of the clots in my right lung and suck the clot out. Anyway, I survived and I am truly thankful to God that I did. I said all that to say this. Please get checked out if there is any possiblilty that you, or any member of your family, may have any type of blood disorder. Please send prayers and thoughts toward that poor family that is grieving tonight. Thanks...Scott

[jerhanner]

Thank you for the warning.

[MonsieurHood]

We seldom believe things like this can happen to us, until they do. You are correct sir, if you have a history of disease in your family, whether it be cancer,diabetes,heart disease or blood disorders, you should heed any warning signs and get checked out. It's the responsible thing to do.

[cjopbj]

Originally Posted by Beetlescott

I received some very sad news Sunday. My 2 son's first cousin passed away Friday evening, he had a bloodclot that went through his heart and killed him instantly. He was 28. The saddest part of all was it could have been prevented. His sister developed a surface clot a few months ago and went to the doctor and found that she had a blood disorder just like her Father. They went in and put a filter trap in through the groin area. Since Deep Vien Thrombosis comes from clots in the legs, the filter can catch them if they break loose and try to travel to the heart and lungs. I had DVT in my legs 2 years ago, (over 20 in each leg) with no symptoms at all. The clots came loose and travelled to my lungs where they lodged, one of the clots was so large, it was saddled over in both lungs. I have talked about this in here before but after this young man died simply because he didn't want to have a test, it is just happening all over again. I had emergency surgery where they tried to "melt" some of the clots in my right lung and suck the clot out. Anyway, I survived and I am truly thankful to God that I did. I said all that to say this. Please get checked out if there is any possiblilty that you, or any member of your family, may have any type of blood disorder. Please send prayers and thoughts toward that poor family that is grieving tonight. Thanks...Scott

I've never heard of DVT. Thank you very much for passing this on. Both of my parents died of heart disease so maybe I better ask my doctor about DVT.

My condolences to you and your family.

[Beetlescott]

Originally Posted by cjopbj

I've never heard of DVT. Thank you very much for passing this on. Both of my parents died of heart disease so maybe I better ask my doctor about DVT.

My condolences to you and your family.

Thanks so much. I had not heard of DVT until the doc looked down in the hospital bed and said, you have deep vein thrombosis. I said what? It seems to me, maybe it's because I have it now, that there are more cases than there used to be. Since I have had it, I have known 2 people who have died from it and a few more who have developed it. It definately is a silent killer, don't mess with it. Again, Thanks!

PS I would say it would cost nothing to get it checked, Just tell your doc you need a phisical, tell him/her that you want to be checked for dvt. Good luck!

[kukalakana]

Originally Posted by cjopbj

I've never heard of DVT.

Never? Even with that business about the airlines a few years back - that they weren't telling people that it was a risk?

I've known some relatively young people who have died suddenly from heart conditions (no-one very close, thankfully) and heard recently that in something like one in three heart attacks the first symptom is death - so getting regular check ups and suchlike is not a bad idea.

ps @beetlescott. I'm sorry to hear about your cousin.

[tomcatjosh]

My condolences to your family.

I may get tested, but my family doesnt have a history of it.

[kukalakana]

Family history or no family history, it's always a good idea to watch out for these things.

DVT - just incidentally - is the reason that people are now saying you should take time to exercise when you fly especially long distance.

[vuedoc]

Scott- I am sorry to hear this story. You are right- sometimes the best predictor of the future is the past. Anyone who has a family history of abnormal clotting in their family should bring that fact to their doctors' attention. A simple blood test can both reassure people or in the opposite cases, save lives.

The increase in DVT in the general population is mostly due to environmental factors, such as obesity, sedentary lifestyle, but there are other things also that contribute, such as the increased prevalence of other disease states which may predispose to this condition, such as people living longer with existing cancer, pre-existing heart failure, liver disease. Also, let's not forget side effects of medications, such as oral contraceptives (especially combined with smoking), TAMOXIFEN (for breast cancer) and estrogen mediators for women with low bone density.

Bottom line, worry about the things you have control over, not the things you don't have control over. Stop smoking, exercise, and investigate anything in your family's past which, if intervened upon, could save a life in the future.

[Beetlescott]

OMG, I just got a call from my son. He told me the Grandfather of the young man who died, passed away last night. He apparently died from grief. He was in perfect health, at least he thought he was. He was complaining of chest pains, they took him to the ER where he was pronounced dead. Please continue to pray or send good thoughts to this family.